Trust, Trolley Museum partner on new venture

Thursday

Aug 1, 2013 at 2:00 AM

KENNEBUNKPORT — Thanks to a new partnership between the Seashore Trolley Museum and the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, those who enjoy the beautiful properties belonging to the organizations will now get a chance to access them from a different angle.

Jennifer Feals

KENNEBUNKPORT — Thanks to a new partnership between the Seashore Trolley Museum and the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, those who enjoy the beautiful properties belonging to the organizations will now get a chance to access them from a different angle.

The Trolley Museum is now offering visitors a chance to take a 1.4 mile ride on its private railway to the museum's "Talbott Park," a representation of an early trolley park, which borders the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust's Edwin L. Smith Preserve trail system. Riders can now disembark at Talbott Park and enjoy a hike for the regular price of admission to the Seashore Trolley Museum.

"We're very happy to return our trolleys to their original purpose, which is to move people to a destination," said Sally Bates, executive director of the Seashore Trolley Museum.

Seashore Trolley Museum is the world's oldest and largest electric railway museum. The scope and quality of the museum's collection of public transit vehicles attracts visitors from across the country and the globe. Offering rides on vintage streetcars, exhibits, educational tours, special events, and a museum store with books, toys, gifts and snacks — and now access to hiking trails — the museum is appealing to all age groups and is dog-friendly.

Until now, visitors were not given the option of departing at the Talbot Park loop. Now, those who choose to disembark there can hike the area and then catch a scheduled trolley back to the visitors' center.

"It's a perfect relationship," said Lisa Lassey, associate director of the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, who on July 26 boarded a vintage streetcar with her two daughters — Carly, 7, and Samantha, 11 — and dog Mac for the inaugural 1.4-mile ride. "We love having people enjoy the trails. We're excited to have even more people out there enjoying them."

The Edwin L. Smith Preserve is the trust's largest landholding, Lassey said, with more than 1,100 acres for hikers, cross country skiers and others to explore.

While the option is now limited to people who want to use the trails on foot, Seashore Trolley Museum is seeking ways to transport bicycles for use on the trails in the future.

Museum hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Visitors utilizing the new service at the Seashore Trolley Museum will need to return to the museum either by a scheduled ride or by walking, before closing time when gates to the parking lot are closed.

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
seacoastonline.com ~ 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service